Grid plate feed mechanism



A. D. LUND May 18, 1954 TE FEED MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 17, 1946 rlllllll May 18, 1954 A D LUND GRID PLATE FEED MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet f5 Original Filed Oct. 17, 1946 May 18, 1954 A. D. LUND 2,678,736

GRID PLATE FEED MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIL- 75' 4 May 18, 1954 A. D. LUND GRID PLATE FEED MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Oct. 17, 1946 D im W w L a H |\\WHW HMM j@ Patented May 18, 1954 2,678,736 GRID PLATE FEED MECHANISM Arthur D. Lund, Minneapolis, Minn., assigner to Solar Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a. corporation of Delaware Original application Getcber 17, 1946, Serial No.

703,799. Divided and this application November 24, 1948,

18 Claims.

This invention relates generally to article feed mechanisms and more particularly to mechanism for feeding or transferring storage battery grid plates, one at a time, from one point to another during the course of their manufacture.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a feed mechanism by which grid plates may be fed olf the end of a conveyor or other grouping device, or station, vertically to a work. station below the group, and while of general application the mechanism will iind particular utility in connection with a trimming press by vhich the plates are trimmed to size and it is here so disclosed. Another object is to provide a feed mechanism of this character which is positive in its action and will deliver the plates, one at a time, from the grouping station or point to the work station and support the plates in vertical position after they leave the group until they arrive at the work station, to prevent any misalignment or other difculties. Another object of the invention is to provide feed mechanism which will operate with equal effectiveness and accuracy upon plates of all common thicknesses. Still a further object is to provide means operating in conjunction with the feed mechafor straightening warped plates as they are transferred from grouping to working stations.

These and other more detailed and speciiic object-s will be disclosed in the course of the following specication reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichl is a side elevation of an automatic trimming machine for battery grid plates showing the feed mechanism of the present invention applied thereto for feeding the plates.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the machine of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the feed mechanism and upper end of the trimming die, taken substantially along the line 5-t in Fig. 9.

5 is a fragmentary detail and sectional view along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4 showing the manner in which the plate comes to rest at thev work station.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view showing the support lugs upon the' plates in section and illustrating the operation of the stripper element ci the feed mechanism.

Serial No. 61,754

(Cl. 21A- 8.5)

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional detail view along the line 1 7 in `Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one of the lugs upon the plates.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical and cross sectional view through a central part of the machine of Figs. 1 3, taken along the lines 9-9 in Fig. 3 and Fig. 10.

Fig. l0 is a fragmentary side elevation and section along the line i-I in Fig. 11.

Fig. ll is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional View along the line Ii--H in Fig. 9.

This application is a division of my prior copending application for Automatic Plate Trimming Machine, Serial No. 703,799, iiled October 17, 1946, now Patent No, 2,625,233, and the trimming machine, per se, being the same as that disclosed and claimed in said application, is not claimed herein but is shown and described only so far necessary to our understanding of the feed mechanism and related elements of the present invention.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to the drawing, attention is iirst invited to Fig. 9 wherein a conventional storage battery grid plate of the type handled by my feed mechanism is shown and indicated generally at A. As it comes from the casting machine this plate A includes two grids B and C having the usual marginal frames D within which are formed the crossing wires E for receiving the electro-chemical paste when the grids are finally completed. The grids also have lugs F by which they are finally connected and supported in the battery. Thus each plate A includes two grids and they at the outset are cast within a completely enclosing marginal frame G which must be trimmed off, and when so trimmed is returned for re-melting at the casting machine. This scrap frame G has oppositely projecting lugs H at upper corners by which the plates are handled before trimming and it will be noted that the grid lugs F also project in opposite directions from the grids so that the trimmed plates may be handled and conveyed by these lugs for further operations after trimming. The grids B and C are joined by a center rib I which is not removed in the trimming operation thus leaving the grids connected until a iinal parting operation in order to utilize the lugs F as long as possible for this purpose. Thus it will be seen that both before and after trimming the plates may be hung and conveyed by the lugs I-I and F as the case may be,

upon properly spaced conveyor chains, and supported by the lugs while being operated upon in different stages of the manufacturing process. This is so well known in the art as to require no further discussion herein.

During the course of their travel through the various manufacturing stages the grid plates are accumulated in groups or stacks from which they must then be stripped or fed one at a time into the machine for performing the next operation. Various feed mechanisms have been devised for this purpose and the present invention presents means by which the plates, supported vertically by their lugs in a group at the end of a conveyor, may be stripped off and carried downwardly one at a time edgewise and vertically to a work station below the grouping point. As one example of a machine in which this type of feed is of advantage I show a trimming machine which will now be briefly described.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1-3 the machine comprises a heavy main frame having rigidly connected sides and 2| across one end of which there is journaled a crankshaft 22. A flywheel 23 on one end of the crankshaft 22 is driven by belts 24 from a motor 25 supported by a base 26 above the main frame. Connecting the frame sides 20 and 2| is a rigid transverse bed plate 2l and slidably supported thereon by the usual gibs and guides (not shown) is a punch cross head 28 connected by a connecting rod 29 to a crank pin 30 on the crankshaft 22. Facing the cross head 28 is a die bed 3| whereon is mounted, in a vertical transverse position, a trimming die 32.

` A cooperating trimming punch 33 is affixed to the cross head 28 and as the crankshaft 22 rotates the resulting reciprocation of the cross head will y move the punch toward and away from the die as will be readily understood. In starting position the punch 33 stands (Fig. 2) well clear of the die 32 thus providing space into which the plates A may be fed from above as will presently appear.

The vertical position of the punch and die faces, .l

of course, requires that the plates be fed vertically and this is of great advantage in disposing of the scrap fra-me G trimmed from the plates and in delivery of the trimmed plates, since both actions `may be carried out by gravity.

When properly positioned over the die face the untrimmed plates come to rest with their lugs H hanging on fingers 34 (Fig. 9) which project from the die toward the punch. In this position the die opening 35 properly registers with the margins of the grids B and C and as the punch 33, which is, of course, shaped to enter the opening 35 with a shearing action, now moves toward the die it punches the trimmed plate from the frame G. The punch operates against a heavy, movable ejector plate 36 in the die opening 35 and this plate 36 is located at the end of an ejector slide 3'! reciprocatably mounted in guides 38 upon the bed plate 2T behind the die. An extension 39 on the slide 31 is connected at 40 to a transverse yoke 4| the ends of which are attached at 42 to actuating rods, one of which appears at 43 in Fig. l. The opposite ends of the rods 43 are attached at 44 to the punch cross head 28 and the action is such that the ejector plate 36, after having been forced into the die opening 35 by the punch as it trims the grid plate, will remain in this position until the punch returns almost to its starting point whereupon the remaining travel of the punch cross head will move the actuating rods 43 to the right as viewed in Fig. l to push the ejector plate back out of the die opening toward the punch. This action will, of course, eject the trimmed plate from the die and it will drop clear, falling edgewise through a transverse opening 45 in the bed plate 21 upon a guide 4S and onto a delivery belt 47.

The punch 33 has pointed pins 48 projecting toward the die and these pins are adapted to enter openings 49 provided in the frame G, in the lugs H, as the punch trims the plate. These pins 48 in addition to aiding in properly registering the plates for trimming, also tightly flt the openings 43 and this, together with the engagement of the trimmed off frame G about the edges of the punch, provides a sufficient frictional grip `between the punch and frame G so that the punch as it returns toward starting position will ypull the fra-me along, clear of the fingers 34. As this occurs the frame G strikes a substantially rectangular stripper frame 50, secured to the die, and the frame is thus forced orf the punch and may also drop through the opening 45. A gate 5| is swingably mounted beneath the opening 45 and it is operated' in timed relation to the travel of the punch, by mechanism not necessary to describe here, to swing to the dotted line position of Fig. 2 as the scrap frame G falls and thus clear its path so that it may drop into a scrap pit (not shown) below the machine. In its normal full line position (Fig. 2) the gate 5| will direct the trimmed plate onto the guide 46 and belt 41 as will be clearly understood.

The feed mechanism for feeding the plates A to the punch and die comprises as its primary feed elements a pair of pickers or picker bars 52 which are mounted in transversely spaced and vertically depending positions on slides 53 which are vertically, slidably mounted upon guide bars 54. The guide bars 54 are secured in upstanding positions by means of bolts 55 to side brackets 56 secured in turn by bolts 51 upon the side brackets 56 secured in turn by bolts 57 upon the sides Ztl- 2| of the frame over the cross head 2B. In such position the pickers 52 are arranged directly over the die 32 and they are so supported that they may lmove upwardly and downwardly in vertical planes located immediately forward of the die face. To thus operate the pickers, I provide a tubular rock shaft 58 which is journaled upon a xed shaft 59 secured in apertured bosses 60 at the forward ends of the side brackets 56 and from this rock shaft there is extended an arm 6| pivotally connected at 62 to a crank 63. The crank 63 hangs down along the adjacent end of the crankshaft 22 upon which is secured an eccentric disk having a pin 64 connected to the lower end of the crank. Arms 55 are then extended from the rock shaft 58 toward the picker slides 53 to which the extremities of the arms are connected by links 66. The arrangement is thus obviously such that the rotation of the crankshaft will oscillate the rock shaft 58 moving the arms 65 upwardly and downwardly at the ends connected to the links 6B, and moving the slides 53 and attached pickers 52 upwardly and downwardly upon the guide bars. In their normal positions the pickers 52 stand in vertically spaced relation well above the die 3 2 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The rough cast grid plates A enter the machine on a chain conveyor system which is quite similar to conveyors used in many prior machines in this art and as here shown the conveyor comprises spaced sprocket chains 6'1 which run over sprockets secured upon inner and outer sprocket shafts 55 and 59. Thev outer shaft 68 is mounted in bearings 'i adjustably secured to frame members 'ii extending from the frame out tothe rear, and the shaft is driven by a sprocket chain 'i2 from a motor 'i3 mounted upon the end of the ramefbelow. The inner shaft 59 is journaled in bearing members 'ld secured upon the frame above the die bed 3| and the sprocket chains 5'? are thus positioned above the ejector slide mechanism and run parallel with each other, longitudinally i the trame. The shaft @9 does not connect the sprockets at this end oi the chain and the shaft is in reality made up of short stub shafts journaled in the bearings i4. rhe chains are so driven by the motor 'I3 that their upper spans or flights run in the direction of the arrow in Fig. l toward the pickers 52 and the spacing of the chains is such that the plates A may be supported by their lugs H upon the chains to be carried thereby toward the pickers. This is, as stated, a well-known means for transporting or conveying the plates and no further description should be necessaryl herein. Secured to the frame and extending along the inside of the chains ''i are guide strips .'55 which terminate at their ends a short distance4 from the path of the pickers 52 and the upper edges ofthese guide strips angle downwardly toward their extremities as designated at 'i5 so that as the grid plates are carried toward the pickers the lugs E will drop oi the chains onto these angular portions or edges of the plates. This construction is best seen in Fig. 4 and it will be apparent that, as the sprocket chains 51 run downwardly over the sprockets at this end of the conveyor, the lugs H will be dropped down upon the guide strips 'I5 and that the inclined edges 'E5 thereof will allow the grid plates to slide downwardly toward the pickers 52. In their normal positions the pickers 52 will stop this movement of the grid plates, or in other words, the plates will pile up against the pickers and the lower ends of the pickers will contact the lugs H. Said lower ends or the pickers 52 have notches T. open toward the plates and into which notches the lugs H oi the plate nearest the pickers will come to rest as seen in Fig. 6. Actually the grid plates nearest the pickers move off the edges of the guide strips '55 and they are temporarily supported by fingers 'i8 having hooks 'I9 which project inwardly toward the outer surfaces of the guide plates 'i5 in such positions that the plate lugs drop upon the hooks 'i9 and be supported thereby. The ngers 18 are supported by means later to be escribed inY such position that the hooks 'i9 will supportably engage the lugs H of the grid plate resting in notchesl '.l'i in the pickers 52, so that this plate will not drop clear but will be positively fed to the die by action oi the pickers.

Positioned below the transfer point between the conveyor mechanism and the pickers are guide members designated generally at Sii having upper and lower vertically spaced hinge eyes E-l by which they are pivotally mounted. upon pins 82 carried in brackets 83 secured to support bars 84 forming part oi' the support for the picker guide bars 54 and attached to the side brackets 56. The guide members 8! have vertically elon` gated, narrow guide ribs 55. which extend from a point immediately above the die 32 to positions immediately below the hooks 19 onA the fingers 'i 8. In their normal positions the guide ribs a5 further stand in substantially theA same vertical plane as the edges of the pickers 5.2 as seen in Fig. 4 and to thus hold the ribs 85 in their normal positions I provide springs 85 (Fig. 7) which are stretched between arms 8'1 extending from the upper hinge pins. The operation oi the springs B6 is such as to tend to oscillate the guide members ina direction such as to project the ribs into the path of the pickers 52 but such movement o the guide members is limited by stops 9G' formed on the arms B1 and engaging adjustable stop screws 9! upon the brackets 83 so that in their normal positions as aforesaid the ribs 35 will stand just clear of the downward path of the pickers. The upper extremities of the guide ribs S5 are beveled of as indicated.v at 92 as seen in Fig.

The aforesaid iingers 'f8 are secured to and depend downwardly from short shafts 93v which are journaled in upward extensions 54 of the bearing members 'it and the fingers are so supported that they extend downwardly clear of the ends of the plate lugs I-i with the aforesaid hooks 'is turned inwardly therebeneath and terminating just short of the adjacent cornersv of the plates l5. Expansion coil springs, one of which is shown at 95 in Fig. ll, are braced against the ngers 'i8 in such position as to normally tend to swing the fingers toward the pickers 52 and such movement is limited by stop nuts 96 upon studs 'i screwed in the bearings 'lli and extendn ing loosely through openings 9B in the fingers. The nuts 55 are so adjusted that the fingers 'i8 will stand with their hooks 19 in position to support the lugs H of the grid plate engaged by the pickers 52. But the pivotal support of the fingers is such that they may move clear of the path or' this grid plate in order to allow the pickers to feed the plate downwardly, as will be clearly evident. Such clearing movement of the nngers 'i8 is yieldably permitted by the springs t5 and as shown in Fig. l1 these springs are positioned in sockets S3 formed for their accommodation inthe bearing members 1li and screws mii plug these sockets to act as supports for the springs. The notches 'Il in the pickers 52 act as supports for the lugs. lThe notches 'I1 in the pickers 5?. do not extend entirely across the pickers but terminate short ci the outer edges thereof leaving ribs mi shown in Figs. 4 5 adapted to hold the lugs (and plates) against end-wise displacement.

As the grid plates approach the pickers the ends of their lugs H move between end guides m3 which are secured to inner faces of the bearing member ill and have ribs |54 so spaced as to just provide clearance therebetween for the plate lugs. This insures that the plates will be registered transversall'y and prevent any end-wise displacement of the plates such as might interfere with the proper registry of their lugs H with the notches 11. I also provide on the bearing member 14 hold-down bars 505 having lower edges |01 which slope downwardly toward the pickers. The lower edges lill' overhang the lugs H of the grid plates and, adjacent the point to which the plates are engaged by the pickers, these edges stand in closely spaced relation to. the upper edges of the lugs. rIhe purpose here is to prevent the grid' plates from moving upwardly for any reason to a point such that the notches TI could not engage the lugs H and it will be evident in. Fig. 4 that the upper ends of the notches 1l stand well above the lowermost ends of the holddown member edges i5? when the pickers are in normalpositions, for thispurpose.

In the operation of this conveyor and feed mechanism the grid plates supported by their lugs H upon the chains 'I7 will be moved toward the pickers and will accumulate upon the upper edges of the guide strips 'l5 in position to be picked or stripped one at a time from this accumulated "stack and fed downwardly to the die. It will, of course, be understood that the pressure of the grid plates approaching the transfer point will bring the endmost plates thereof tightly together exerting some pressure on the plate nearest the pickers and forcing its lugs H into the notches 1l. Thus, upon rotation of the crank-shaft 22 to start the punch toward the die the rock shaft 58 will be operated to move the arms 65 downwardly and the resulting downward movement of the pickers 52 will cause their notches 'I1 to start the endmost grid plate downward toward the die. The lugs H of this plate will then first engage the fingers at |92 and push the fingers out of the was7 as the plate moves down and then will engage the ca-m ends 92 of the guide ribs 85 swinging the guide members slightly away from the path of the pickers, but the spring bias upon these guide members is such that the plate lugs will be gripped between the picker notches and the guide ribs 85 in such manner as to hold the lugs tightly in the notches for the full length of the ribs. The downward movement of the pickers 52 continues until the plate lugs H move off the guide ribs 85 at which point the plate is released immediately over the hanger lingers 34 upon which the lugs H then drop, positioning the plate over the die. This feed action, of course, occurs before the punch reaches the die, and the pickers 52 move upwardly again as the punch starts its return stroke so that as the punch reaches its normal inoperative position the pickers are again in position to receive and engage the lugs of the next plate. It will be understood, of course, that the length of the pickers 52 is such that they will maintain engagement with the accumulation of grid plates while one plate is being fed to the die, to thus prevent any disarrangement of the plates during this operation. As the pickers rise there is, of course, some friction upon the plate nearest the pickers but it is prevented from being elevated by the hold-down members I E35 previously described.

In Fig. 4 the plates are not shown as stacked y up against the pickers, since to do so would obscure certain parts of the structure shown.

Battery grid plates are made in Various thicknesses and in order that my machine may feed.

one plate at a time accurately and positively regardless of the thickness of the plates, I contemplate beveling the lugs H at upper and lower portions as indicated at ISB in Figs. 4 6. Since it is the thickness of the upper edges particularly of the lugs H which controls their proper engagement in the notches 'II in the pickers 52, it will be apparent that by thus beveling the lugs they may be caused to have edge thicknesses which are the same regardless of the thickness the balance of the lugs and of the plates themselves. In Fig. 6, I show several lugs of different thicknesses thus properly beveled, while I show one lug, designated at H', which is the same thickness from top to bottom, as it would be for the thinnest plate usually made. These beveled edges of the lugs also have a function in camming the hooked ends of the fingers 18 away as each plate moves downward, the beveled lower edges of the lugs engaging the surface |02 aforesaid for this purpose. Instead of beveling the lugs H they may be cut away to constant thickness at their outer ends from top to bottom as indicated at IIlIiEL in Fig. 8. It will, of course, be understood that the lingers 78 and guide members 80 will accommodate themselves to plate lugs of all thicknesses and that by thus beveling or thinning the lugs the machine will feed the plates properly one at a time, even if a number of different sizes of plates are mixed in the same batch. For the straight lugs |08a of Fig. 8 the fingers I8 will be set just to clear as the lugs are moved down by the pickers.

It may frequently happen that the rough plates as they are received from the casing machine are warped and it therefore may occur that the end plates next to the pickers may have a tendency to buckle outward away from the accumulated rank of plates. Actually the rough cast plates are usually curved somewhat and to "straighten the plates, or tilt them somewhat in such direction that their upper edges will be moved toward the pickers and thus favor the entrance of the lugs into the picker notches. I provide a pressure roller indicated at |09 (Figs. 2 and 3) which is positioned midway of and below the pickers 52 (when they are raised) and is journaled at the lower end of an arm H0 pivoted upon a transverse pin III carried in a bracket extension II2 of a bracket plate IIS. Said bracket plate -l I 3 is secured at |I4 to a base II5 which joins the aforesaid side brackets 56 and which is, of course, a rigid part of the frame. The roller |09 is thus so positioned that it will engage the center of the e nearest to the pickers 52 and the roller is held at such engagement, while the pickers are elevated and while they are in process of engaging and starting this plate downwardly, by a plunger IIB arranged to slide toward and away from the arm I I0 below the pin I III. The said plunger IIS is actuated by an arm II'I extending radially and downwardly from the tubular rock shaft 58 and provided with a contact screw IIB adapted to engage a sleeve IIS slidably mounted upon the plunger. A bearing |20 slidably supports the sleeve 'H9 while apertured ears I2I loosely pass the plunger and support it for axial movements. An expansion coil spring |22 is placed on the plunger between the sleeve I I9 and a collar |23 conventionally adjustably supported upon the plunger and this spring is thus so positioned as to normally urge the plunger IIS toward and into contact with the arm IIU to bring the roller I 09 to bear against the grid plate. The arrangement, however, is such that when the pickers 52 move downwardly the resulting upward movement of the arm II'I caused by rotation of the rock shaft 58 will cause the stop screw IIB to clear the end of the sleeve II9 which may then move axially with respect to the plunger I I6 under pressure of the spring |22 to relieve the force with which the roller IGS is urged against the grid plate. Thus it will be seen that as the pickers obtain a rm grip upon the lugs H of the grid plate and carry these lugs down against the guide member 80, the pressure of the roller |09 will be relieved allowing the plate then to pass on down to the die without interference. A retractile coil spring I 24 is provided and is so arranged as to pull the roller I9 away from the grid plate when the plunger II6 is allowed to move axially by the aforesaid operation of the arm III during the downward travel of the pickers. Adjustable stop nuts l|25 are threaded upon the plunger I I6 and are arranged to engage I2I so that the posibe adjusted as will one of the apertured ears tions of the roller |09 may be understood.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a comparatively simple mechanism by means of which grid plates, or analogous articles having supporting and manipulating lugs, may be accurately and positively picked one at a time and moved, while remaining in a gripped or supported position, through a substantial distance to a worl; station and then droppedinto place ready for work. The vertical edgewise feed of the plates will be found to lend itself well to many operations where horizontal or angular feeds are not applicable.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. Mechanism for supporting and feeding battery grid plates having oppositely vprojecting lugs, comprising a conveyor adapted to support the plates by their lugs and to move them to a feeding point, notched picker members operatively arranged at said feeding point .and adapted to engage the lugs of the endmost plate and to strip the plates one at a time away from the conveyor, and the said plate lugs being beveled off at their edges whereby these edges are all of the same 'thickness and t the picker notches all in the same manner regardless of the thickness of the plates themselves.

2. Mechanism for feeding plate-like articles having oppositely projecting lugs from a grouping station to a work station, comprising in combination, spaced means for supporting a group of articles by their lugs, picker members supported for movement from the grouping station vertically to the work station, the said picker members having notches for engaging the lugs of the article at the end of the group and moving it to the work station, and spaced guide members extending between the grouping and work stations to engage the lugs and hold them in the notches as the picker members move toward the work station.

3. Mechanism for feeding plate-like articles having cppositely projecting lugs from a grouping station to a work station, comprising in combination spaced means for supporting a group of articles by their lugs, picker members supported for movement from the grouping station vertically to the work station, the said picker members having notches for engaging the lugs of the article at the end of the group and moving it to the work station, and spaced guide members extending between the grouping and work stations and having ribs to frictionally engage the lugs of an article as it travels toward the work station and hold the lugs in the notches in said picker members, the said ribs being beveled off at the ends nearest said grouping station.

4. Mechanism for feeding plate-line articles having oppositely projecting lugs from a grouping station to a work station, comprising in combination spaced means for supporting a group of articles by their lugs, picker members supported for movement from the grouping station vertically to the work station, the said picker members having notches for engaging the lugs of the article at the end of the groiip and moving it to the work station, spaced guide members extending between the grouping and working stations and operative to engage the lugs of an article as it travels toward the work station and hold the lugs in the notches of the picker members, and the said guide members being movably mounted and spring biased to frictionally engage the lugs and press them into the said notches.

5. Mechanism for feeding plate-like articles having oppositely projecting lugs from a grouping station to a work station, comprising in combination spaced means for supporting a group of articles by their lugs, picker members supported for movement from the grouping station vertically to the work station, the said picker members having notches for engaging the lugs of the article at the end of the group and moving it to the work station, spaced guide members extending between the grouping and working stations and operative to engage the lugs of an article as it travels toward the work. station and hold the lugs in the notches of the picker members, the said guide members being movably mounted and spring biased toward the paths of the picker members, and cam surfaces on the ends of the guide members nearest the grouping station for engagement by the lugs to urge the guide members away from their paths.

6. Mechanism for feeding plate-like articles having oppositely projecting lugs from a grouping station to a work station, comprising in combination spaced means for supporting a group of articles by their lugs, picker members supported for movement from the grouping station vertically to the work station, the said picker members having notches for engaging the lugs of the article at the end of the group and moving it to the work station, spaced guide members extending between the grouping and working stations and operative to engage the lugs of an article as it travels toward the work station and hold the lugs in the notches of the picker members, the said guide members being movably mounted and spring biased toward the paths of the picker members, and adjustable stop means for adjusting the position of the guide members with reference to the paths of said picker members.

7. Mechanism for feeding plates of the type having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides to a work station from a superimposed grouping station, comprising means for supporting a group of plates, side by side, by their lugs at the grouping station, hanger members supported at the sides of the group and having hooks for supporting the lugs at the end plate of the group, picker members movable downwardly from the grouping station to the work station and having means for engaging the end plate of the group and feeding it downwardly, and cooperating means on the hanger members and picker members for releasing the hooks from the plate lugs as it is fed downward. Y

8. Mechanism for handling grid plates having oppositely projecting side lugs and transferring the plates one at a time from group to a work station below the group, comprising means for supporting the plates by their lugs in the group and urging the group of plates in one direction, hanger fingers movably supported alongside the group of plates and having inwardly turned hooks to engage and support the end plate of the group, picker members mounted for up and down movements between the group and work station and having notches for engaging the lugs of each end plate in succession and moving it downwardly to the work station, and cooperating cam sur;

l 1 faces on the hanger fingers and picker members operative to swing the ngers clear of the plate lugs as they are engaged and started downward by the picker members.

9. Mechanism for handling grid plates having oppositely projecting side lugs and transferring the plates one at a time from a group to a work station below the group, comprising means for supporting the plates by their lugs in the group and urging the group of plates in one direction, hanger fingers movably supported alongside the group of plates and having inwardly turned hooks to engage and support the end plate of the group, picker members mounted for up and down movements between the group and work station and having notches for engaging the lugs of each end plate in succession and moving it downwardly to the work station, and cooperating cam surfaces on the hanger ngers and picker members operative to swing the iingers clear f the plate lugs as they are engaged and started downward by the picker members, and the said ngers being spring biased toward the picker members.

l0. Mechanism for handling grid plates having oppositely projecting side lugs and transferring the plates one at a time from a group to a work station below the group, comprising means for supporting the plates by their lugs in the group and urging the group of plates in one direction, hanger fingers movably supported alongside the group of plates and having inwardly turned hooks to engage and support the end plate of the group, picker members mounted for up and down movements between the group and work station and having notches for engaging the lugs of each end plate in succession and. moving it downwardly to the work station, and cooperating cam surfaces on the hanger fingers and picker members operative to swing the ngers clean of the plate lugs as they are engaged and started downward by the picker members, and means above the lugs of the group of plates for holding them against upward displacement.

11. Mechanism for feeding plates of the type having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides to a work station from a susperimposed grouping station, comprising means for supporting a group of plates, side by side, by their lugs at the grouping station, hanger members supported at the sides of the group and having hooks for supporting the lugs of the end plate of the group, picker members movable downwardly from the grouping station to the work station and having means for engaging the said end plate of the group and feeding it downwardly, cooperating means on the hanger members and picker members for releasing the hooks from the plate lugs as it starts downwardly, and guide means extending between the grouping and work stations for holding the lugs in the engaging means of the said picker members as the plate travels downward.

12. In a battery grid plate working machine having a work station, conveyorl means for conveying plates to a grouping point above the work station, mechanism for feeding the plates one at a time from said grouping point down to the work station, comprising upwardly and down- Wardly movable pickers for engaging and feeding the endinost plates in succession down to the Work station, a pressure roller supported to yieldably engage the end plate at the grouping point to straighten the plate, and means for releasing the pressure of said roller on the plate as it is fed downwardly.

13. In a battery grid plate working machine for plates having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides and said machine having a work station, means for supporting a group of plates by their lugs above said work station, means including picker members having notches for engaging one plate at a time of the group and moving the plates in succession down to the work station, and a pressure member engaging the group of plates and operative to tilt the group for positively engaging the upper edges of the plates with the notched picker members.

14. In a battery grid plate working machine for plates having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides and said machine having a work station, means for supporting a group of plates by their lugs above said work station, up- Wardly and downwardly movable picker members having means for downwardly engaging the lugs of each plate in succession and moving the plates one at a time down to the work station, and a pressure exerting member engaging the group of plates and tilting the same to move the upper edges of the lugs into positive engagement with the picker members.

15. In a battery grid plate working machine for plates having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides and said machine having a work station, means for supporting a group of plates by their lugs above said work station, upwardly and downwardly movable picker members having means for downwardly engaging the lugs of each plate in succession and moving the plates one at a time down to the work station, a pressure exerting member engaging the group of plates and tilting the same to move the upper edges of the lugs into positive engagement with the picker members, mechanism for moving the picker members. and means operated in synchronism with the said mechanism for releasing the pressure of said pressure exerting member from the group as a plate is engaged and moved downward by the picker members.

16. Mechanism for feeding battery plates of the type having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides to a work station from a superimposed grouping station, comprising upwardly and downwardly movable picker members having means for engaging the lugs of the plates and moving them one at a time down to the work station, and means for supporting the plates by their' lugs at the grouping station and including hanger members supported at each side'of that station and having inwardly turned hooks for upwardly engaging the plate lugs.

17. Mechanism for feeding battery plates of the type having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides toa work station from a superimposed grouping station, comprising upwardly and downwardly movable picker members having means for engaging the lugs of the plates and moving them one at a time down to the work station, and means for supporting the plates by their lugs at the grouping station and including hanger members supported at the sides of the group and having means on their lower ends underlying the plate lugs adjacent the path of the picker members.

18. Mechanism for feeding battery plates of the type having oppositely projecting handling lugs at their sides to a work station from a superimposed grouping station, comprising upwardly and downwardly movable picker members having means for engaging the lugs of the plates and having means on their lower ends underlying the 5 plate lugs adjacent the path of the picker members, and means above the group-ing station for downwardly engaging the plates to hold them against upward displacement by the picker members as they move upwardly.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Ainslee Maly 12, 1908 Etheridge Mar. 11, 1919 Webster Sept. 14, 1926 Angell May 10, 1927 Graves Apr. 24, 1934 Lund June 1, 1937 Chernof June 22, 1937 Huntsberger June 12, 1945 

